fsus-ga,
As someone with a B.S. degree in biology from a major U.S. University
(including a course in neurobiology), I feel qualified to provide an
Answer to your Question. As bobby7-ga states in his Clarification,
“Encephalology is the science which treats of the brain, its structure
And functions.” (Note, you can view the internet source of this
definition here:
[ http://www.books.md/E/dic/encephalology.php ], from the medical
Dictionary Search Engine.
You ask in your own Clarification, “…or is Encephalology a
science which a neurologist would study?”
This is basically the case, although I will provide you sufficient
details and background information here to enable your daughter to
successfully complete and understand her assignment.
While encephalology may be practically defined as the study of the
brain, you won’t find many (or perhaps any—searching Google for
keyword “encephalologists” yields zero results) practicing
"encephalologists" out there. This is because in order to *apply* any
knowledge of the brain, one must understand not only the brain itself,
but how the brain interacts with and controls the rest of the body.
This type of knowledge generally falls under the realm of neurology
(the study of the nervous system).
It will help at this point to look at some further definitions. From
WordReference.com [http://www.wordreference.com/english/definition.asp?en=brain
], the definition of the brain is:
“the soft convoluted mass of nervous tissue within the skull of
vertebrates that is the controlling and coordinating centre of the
nervous system and the seat of thought, memory, and emotion. It
includes the cerebrum, brainstem, and cerebellum
Technical name: encephalon”
So, neurologically, the brain is termed the “encephalon.” More
importantly, the brain is only *part* of a larger system which it
controls—that of the “nervous system.” The study of the nervous system
(which includes the brain, or encephalon, by default, is known as
“neurology”. A professional who studies the nervous system is called a
“neurologist.”
So, as you state in your Clarification, Encephalology is indeed a
science which a neurologist would study.
With this background, let’s now treat the specific assignment
questions:
“describe the
occupation of the scientist. You can talk about where they work, type
of degree needed, what their job duties consit of, or anything else
that pertains to the occupation"
In general, the occupation of someone who studies encephalology will
be that of a neurologist, neurobiologist, or neuroscientist. The
difference among these is that a neurologist will generally be in the
medical profession, and actually hold an M.D. degree, while a
neurobiologist or neuroscientist will tend to be more research
oriented. This scientific research may be done either for the private
sector, as with pharmaceutical companies trying to develop new drugs,
or academically, as at a major University writing research papers for
publication in journals such as Nature. Also,
neurobiologists/-scientists may study the brains/nervous systems of
animals other than human. The people doing this type of research will
typically hold PhD degrees (which makes them “doctors,” although not
medical doctors), or possibly Master of Science (M.S.) degrees.
At any rate, the basic career track for any of them starts about
generally the same-with either a biology or “pre-med” (meaning
pre-medical school) major leading to a B.S. (Bachelor of Science) 4
year degree from an accredited university. Although students may
sometimes have the option of an “emphasis” in neurobiology or
neurology at this stage, it is not normal to specialize to that degree
at the undergraduate level. In other words, although most college
students who are going into either medical school or graduate school
for neurobiology may take one or two classes in “neurobio”, it is
usually not required.
What is required at the college level (and even to be accepted into
the 4 year college programs) is a strong background in the basic
sciences and mathematics, notably chemistry (inorganic, organic, and
biochemistry), physics, trigonometry and calculus, general biology and
genetics. These are the fundamental disciplines, and the subjects that
will “make or break” potential college graduates in the fields of
medicine or biology.
After earning a 4 year degree, the track varies depending on the
specific career choice. Those who want to become true neurologists
(i.e., “brain surgeons” or M.D.’s specializing in brain injuries and
brain research) will have to be admitted to medical school. Those
wanting to conduct cutting-edge research will generally seek PhD’s.
The following job description for a “neurologist” comes from
www.salary.com [http://secure.salary.com/jobvaluationreport/docs/jobvaluationreport/joblisthtmls/jvrjob_HC07000046.html
]:
“Job Description for Neurologist:
Examines and diagnoses disorders and diseases of the nervous system.
Consults with patients to determine the appropriate course of
treatment. Recommends and orders tests to determine extent of illness
or help diagnose condition. Requires a degree in medicine from an
accredited school and is licensed to practice. May require at least
2-4 years of neurology experience. Familiar with standard concepts,
practices, and procedures within a particular field. Relies on
experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a
variety of tasks. May report to a medical director. A wide degree of
creativity and latitude is expected.”
From the same webpage is a “job evaluation report”:
A typical Neurologist working in the United States earns a median base
salary of $155,588, according to our analysis of data reported by
corporate HR departments. Half of the people in this job earn between
$136,897 and $183,138. Alternate job titles include: Physician -
Neurology, Doctor - Neurology. Job description is shown at the bottom
of this page.”
Here is an actual job ad for a neurobiologist, from
newScientistjobs.com
[http://www.newscientistjobs.com/list/ViewJob-scij7153.html ]:
“Position # 2. The Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and
Anatomy is recruiting a cellular neurobiologist. Space for this
position is within the Department. Candidates using state of the art
techniques to study intracellular trafficking and/or nervous system
development are preferred.”
“Intracellular trafficking” refers to the routing of chemical and/or
electrical signals within an individual nerve cell. The pay rate for
these types of positions vary widely, but would be in the
mid-forties/yr on the lower end.
In summary, to complete her assignment successfully, your daughter
should first understand and present the definitions of encephalology
(the study of the brain itself) and encephalon (the actual brain).
Then, she should explain how the brain (encephalon) is part of a
larger system called the nervous system, which may be defined as (From
hyperdictionary.com [http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/nervous+system
]
“The nervous system is the body tissue that records and distributes
information in the body using electrical and chemical transmission. It
has two parts. The "central" nervous system is comprised of the brain
and spinal cord. The "peripheral" nervous system is the nerve tissue
that transmits sensation and motor information back and forth from the
body to the central nervous system.”
She should state specifically that the brain is the controlling organ
of the nervous system, because that is what ties together
encephalology with neurology/neurobiology.
Next, she should explain how there aren’t many pure encephalologists
per se, but that neurologists, neurobiologists and neuroscientists are
professionals who get paid to apply knowledge of encephalology.
She could then go on to explain the different career tracks of
medically oriented neurologists versus research oriented
neurobiologists and neuroscientists. She should give examples:
A neurologist might be a medical doctor who performs brain surgeries,
she might say, while a neurobiologist studies the signal transmission
patterns within individual nerve cells. A neuroscientist might do
research on parrot brains to find out more about how they learn to
mimic human voices so well.
I will now provide some additional links to internet resources
containing relevant information, as well as explaining my search
strategy.
Google search strategy:
Whenever you want to get a basic definition of something, such as
“encaphalolgy,” it’s a good idea to type that word followed by the
word, “definition” (without the quotes) into the Google search box.
For example, keywords, “neurology definition” takes you to the
following Google search results page:
[ ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=neurology+definition
].
Have your daughter actually do this for all of the science terms
discussed here, such as encephalology, neurobiology, etc.
When investigating what people generally do in certain professions,
enter the name of the profession followed by the phrase “career
track.” For example, “neurologist career track”:
[ ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=neurologist+career+track&btnG=Google+Search
].
Also, clicking the “similar links” gray colored link next to each
search result main link will bring you to more content similar to that
of the last link.
Okay, now on to the main search terms I used in the preparation of
this Answer:
Keywords,
“encephalology”:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=encephalology&btnG=Google+Search
,
“encephalologist”: [NOTE: that no results were returned].
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=encephalologist
,
“neurologist”:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=neurologist
,
“neurobiologist”:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=neurobiologist&spell=1
,
“neuroscientist”:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=neuroscientist&btnG=Google+Search
,
Then, as discussed above, repeat all the above searches followed by
the phrase “career track.”
I hope this helps your daughter to understand and successfully
complete her assignment. If it for some reason does not, or if you
have specific questions about anything I’ve written here, please don’t
hesitate to ask for Clarification to this Answer.
Good luck to your daughter on her assignment!
Sincerely,
omniscientbeing-ga
Google Answers Research |
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